


Cheese and Crackers

by imnotbuck



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Kid Fic, Kid Natasha Romanov, M/M, Meet-Cute, PTA Meetings, Single Parent Bucky, Snacks & Snack Food, the value of cheese and crackers is great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 19:07:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13219284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotbuck/pseuds/imnotbuck
Summary: No one wants to attend PTA meetings, ever, but when you do you have to come prepared. (i.e. snacks and lots of them)Or, the one where PTA meetings suck, Bucky has a snack, and Steve is looking like a snack.





	Cheese and Crackers

**Author's Note:**

> completely unbeta'd because who has time for that

“This is probably the last thing I wanna do,” Bucky huffed and flopped down on the stairs to tie his shoes. “Seriously.”

 

Natasha rolled her eyes at him. “You’re supposed to be excited about being part of my life, dad,” she reminded him. “Parents generally eat this shit up.”

 

“Watch your language,” he countered. 

 

She rolled her eyes again.

 

“Listen, the PTA is terrible for everyone involved. No one likes it other than the pushy parents who want a say in everything,” he said. “I am not one of those parents.”

 

“Really?” she gasped. “I hadn’t noticed!” 

 

“These meetings are long and boring and they never have any snacks,” he said. Natasha opened her mouth to call his bluff but he cut her off, “They do have snacks, but they’re always gone within the first five minutes because they never get enough.”

 

“Think of it this way,” she said. “You might be able to make some new parent friends.”

 

“I don’t want parent friends,” he whined. “I have friends.”

 

“Maybe you can meet a new  _ lover  _ then.” 

 

Bucky scoffed and finished tying his shoes. He stood up and shook himself out, then walked over to the coat rack and grabbed his jacket. “First of all, don’t say lover in this house. It’s creepy.”

 

“Are you telling me you  _ don’t  _ want a  _ new lo-ver _ ?” she made sure to extend the word lover as much as she could just to annoy him. 

 

“Second,” he said, ignoring her completely, “I don’t wanna date any of those parents. They’re insane. And their kids are jerks.”

 

“Not all of them are,” Natasha replied. “Nancy, Doreen, Nadia, Skye, and Sam aren’t.”

 

“That’s because they’re your friends.” Natasha was a very selective person when it came to her friends. She hated most of the kids in her class - the entire school, really - so Bucky trusted her seal of approval. 

 

“The point is, some of the kids don’t completely suck so there are definitely parents who don’t. You should try and meet someone.”

 

Dating was an area that Bucky had veered away from ever since Natasha was born. After her mother had cut and run, he hadn’t had the faintest desire to date anyone. There were many factors involved, specifically that there wasn’t time, and he didn’t trust anyone to take care of Natasha while he went out. For almost a year after her birth Bucky didn’t want anyone else to be alone with her; he feared that she would be hurt and feel as though she’d been abandoned. 

 

Sometimes he still felt that way, but he was better at controlling it. She was edging on 13 now and he had managed not to be overprotective of her - at least, not in his mind. But dating was still a major grey area for him and he wasn’t sure when he was going to be able to trust enough to date anyone. 

 

“Nah,” he said. “I think I’m good for right now.”

 

“You’ve been ‘good’ for the past 12 years, dad,” she said softly. It was rare to hear her speak so earnestly. “It’s okay for you to want to date.”

 

He looked down at his feet and swallowed a few times so that his wouldn’t crack when he spoke again. “I’ll put some feelers out, okay?” he asked. “But I can almost guarantee that I won’t find anyone at a PTA meeting.” 

 

“Deal.”

 

“I’m going now,” he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “Be good - call me if you need anything.”

 

“I will.” 

 

“I’ll bring back a pizza or something for dinner.” 

 

“Yum,” she said and smiled. 

 

Bucky grabbed his keys off of the key hook and shoved them into his pocket. 

 

“Hey dad?” she asked when he opened the door. He turned to look at her and her grin was positively evil. “Be safe,” she said and threw a small package at him. 

 

It looked like a condom flying at him!

 

“Natasha Barnes!” he shouted but caught it instinctively. It wasn’t a condom as he had feared; it was a pack of cheese and crackers. 

 

“In case they don’t have any snacks left.”

 

*

 

How Maureen had convinced Steve to stand in for her at the PTA meeting was something he’d never know. The woman was ridiculously good at manipulating him - it was her kind face and natural sweetness that did him in. It was the same for most people who met her, actually, but most people weren’t forced into sitting through the most boring event ever and asked to take notes. 

 

In all honesty, Steve was happy to do it. Maureen was sick and Dorian was working and they really wanted to be part of Doreen’s school life, so they’d called on him and he had agreed readily. Doreen was his goddaughter so he was willing to do anything he needed to help her and if he needed to attend the disaster that was the Parent-Teacher Association’s weekly meeting, then he would. 

 

The meeting started at 6 P.M. on the dot, but Steve got there 10 minutes late. Naturally that wasn’t a good start; there was a strict tardiness code apparently, and he was met with glares when he walked in. There was only one seat and it was in the back, thankfully, so he slid in and tried to make himself invisible for the next half hour. He pulled out a notebook and pen to take notes, but almost immediately started doodling. It was hard not to when he was faced with the teacher leading the group; Mr. Banner’s curly hair, glasses, and the vein that stood out on his forehead when he was faced with annoying parents demanded to be drawn. 

 

“I feel the need to remind you that this isn’t a forum to voice anger towards each other,” Mr. Banner said in response to one man yelling across the room at someone. “We’re here to discuss the welfare of the children and nothing more. If it’s easier for you, I’m sure Mr. Hogan will be happy to show you the door.”

 

“Pun intended?” someone behind him muttered.

 

“All I’m saying is that my son told me that his son has been cheating off of him for weeks and nothing has happened,” the yelling man said. “I think this is a matter that should be discussed here because it does involve their welfare.”

 

“And all  _ I’m _ saying,” the other man replied. “Is that your son is lying.” 

 

“How dare you-”

 

“Mr. Hogan?” Mr. Banner asked and the two men both quieted, but remained glaring at each other. 

 

“Now that that’s done with,” Mr. Stark started. “Let’s talk fundraising.” 

 

That started a whole other disaster. Who knew that everyone would have so many ideas for fundraisers? Steve sure as hell hadn’t. The entire crowd was going crazy with suggestions and shooting each other down, so Steve had no problem blending in and staying out of sight. 

 

His camouflaging technique went to hell when his stomach growled.  _ Loudly.  _

 

*

 

The entire room quieted down a little and Bucky didn’t know why, not until the second time someone’s stomach growled. He looked around subtly and realized it had been the guy beside him; he hadn’t noticed him even slip in but he was noticing him now - as was everyone, but for a different reason.

 

He was  _ gorgeous.  _

 

He had shiny blond hair and the most beautiful blue eyes that were framed by thick eyelashes that made him look so soft. He had a well groomed beard and glasses; that secretly ticked off things that were on Bucky’s list. And he had a flannel on for crying out loud! 

 

_ I think I’m in love,  _ he thought to himself. 

 

The guy’s stomach growled again. Bucky looked around and saw that unsurprisingly, the refreshment table was cleaned out. The poor guy was going to have to stomach the next half an hour without anything to eat - Bucky felt his pain deeply because he’d been in the same situation many times. 

 

Everyone started talking again and the meeting resumed, so the guy let out a small sigh of relief at being ignored again. Bucky shifted in his seat and the cheese and cracker package in his pocket made itself known by jabbing him. He pulled it out and thanked Natasha silently; he turned a little and used the corner to poke the guy’s arm and get his attention. 

 

“Here,” he whispered as quietly as he could. 

 

The guy looked confused at first but smiled gratefully once he understood. He took it and moved his notebook over, writing something on it for Bucky. 

 

_ Thanks! You’re a lifesaver _

 

Bucky grinned and whispered, “No problem.” 

 

“I’m Steve by the way,” the guy - Steve, whispered. God, even his voice was nice. 

 

“Bucky.” 

 

Steve carefully peeled back by plastic on the package and sighed happily when he grabbed out the tiny cheese spreader. He took a cracker out, smeared some cheese on it, and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. He repeated the process until there was only one cracker left, which he spread cheese on and handed to Bucky. 

 

“Sharing is caring,” Steve muttered through a mouthful of cheese and crackers. 

 

“Very true,” he replied and took it. 

 

The two of them spent the rest of the meeting trying to listen and failing, while doodling in Steve’s notebook. Steve was very good at drawing and put Bucky to shame even in terms of doodling, but he didn’t mind in the slightest. He loved seeing Steve’s hilarious drawings of the teachers and some of the rowdier parents, so much that he completely forgot that they were even in the dumb meeting anyway. 

 

When it was over and everyone was filling out, Bucky found himself pretty sad that it was finished. He’d learned that Steve had just been filling in for Doreen’s parents, so he probably wouldn’t be seeing him again. Next week’s meeting was going to be just as boring as every other one if he weren’t there.

 

They walked out of the room side by side and the closer they got to the front doors, the louder Natasha’s voice in his head became. She had encouraged him to try to meet someone and it seemed like he had done exactly that. Steve was cute and funny and talented; Bucky had a really good feeling about him and he didn’t want to pass on it just because of his anxieties. 

 

“There’s this Mediterranean fusion place downtown,” Bucky said. “I hear their food is better than cheese and crackers.” 

 

Steve turned and beamed at him, his cheeks flushed in an instant. “Better than cheese and crackers?” he asked playfully. “I can’t imagine that, but I’d like to try it.” 

 

“Are you free on Friday?” It gave him a few days to mentally prepare if Steve said yes.

 

“For you? Absolutely,” Steve replied. He opened his notebook and tore out a page, then quickly wrote his number down and handed it to Bucky. “I’ll see you then, Buck.” 

 

“See you then,” Bucky said and watched Steve walk away. Once Steve was gone he looked down at the paper and smiled when he saw a doodle of himself just above Steve’s number. Maybe PTA meetings weren’t so terrible after all. 

 

Natasha would  _ never  _ let him hear the end of that. 

**Author's Note:**

> Cheese and crackers were a huge staple in my childhood seriously, they're the easiest snack and severely underrated. I always had those snack packs and I never regretted it once  
> 
> 
> You can follow me on [tumblr](https://fuckyfarnes.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
